//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Waking Nightmares // by Kelvin Shadewing //------------------------------// Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 9 Here I was, in the throne room of Canterlot palace, in the presence of the princess of the night herself, Luna of Equestria, and she was rushing right up to meet me. It would have been a brony's wet dream... if not for the fact that she was rushing up to meet me so she could kill me! I braced myself against the door and turned my head, closing my eyes tight. Sure, I wanted to see Luna, but not like this! Of course, it was kind of my fault, but I thought she was the playful one! No use now. Time to just accept my fate, and wait for-- "Luna! What in Equestria are you doing?!" --Celestia to bail me out, of course! Luna skidded to a halt and looked back at her sister. I opened my eyes, and saw the regal princess of the sun approaching us both with confusion plastered on her face. "Luna, has Discord's madness driven you to this? What could breaking your horn on the door possibly accomplish?" "Break your horn on the... Oh~!" I grinned at Luna. "Guess who's the only pony who can see me?" Luna went bug-eyed and swung her head from me to Celestia and back again. "Thou meanst thou cannot see the intruder?" Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked where I was standing. "Dear sister, we are alone, you and I. You can drop the royal we." "But he's standing right here!" Luna besought, "He dared to mock us! And I believe he is responsible for what happened to the Elements of Harmony!" Celestia raised a hoof to silence her sister. "Luna, Discord is the one who plunged them into the unwaking slumber." "Unwaking slumber?" I queried. Celestia looked at me and smiled. "Besides, I'm sure if he really were there, he'd be very confused about all this. Wouldn't he?" "Wait, can she see me?" I asked Luna. Luna shushed me. Celestia chuckled. "Let me guess, then he'd wonder if I can see him." I scowled and walked up to her, then flicked her on the nose. Luna gasped. "And then he'd touch me and see if I can feel him, am I right?" Celestia grinned at Luna's astonished nod. "You have such a predictable imagination, dear sister. I'm surprised you've managed to hold your own against me in our games." "Ooh, Celestia, you troll!" I jibed. Luna glowered at me for that remark. Celestia passed through me (oh my gosh, I can see inside her stomach!) and put her hoof on Luna's shoulder. "You are exhausted, Luna. Please, take the night off. I will keep watch and wait for word of Discord's activities." Luna lowered her gaze. "You're right. I've just been so worried about them..." The sun princess nuzzled her sister on the cheek. "I know. I am too. But with Discord loose and the Elements incapacitated, we need our strength full and our minds clear. Now go rest. I will wake you if anything comes up before hoof." Luna hugged her sister, and then proceeded to leave, trotting down the hall towards her chamber. I slipped through the door before it could close and caught up to her, walking with my hands at the small of my back. "Hey, Luna?" She glared at me, but kept her pace. "Look, I'm sorry. I thought this was all a dream." "You made us look like a fool in front of our sister," she said lowly, looking ahead again. "There you go again with the royal we," I said, "I thought Twilight got you to quit that back on Nightmare Night." The princess whipped around and stepped in front of me, lowering her eyes to my level. "How does thou know of this? Art thou spying on us?" I paused and carefully thought about my answer. "Um, could I get back to you on that? We have a bigger problem here." Luna raised her eyebrow. "Such as?" "Well, for starters," I began, "I'm here for real, judging by how you could hurt me back there. And apparently, the Mane Six are in an... unwaking slumber, as Celestia put it? What does that mean?" Luna turned from me and looked down the hall. "Follow me." We came to her bedroom (squee), and there on the floor were the bodies of the Mane Six. I gasped and knelt down beside Twilight's body, trying to shake her awake. "Twilight! Can you hear me?" I grabbed Pinkie Pie and shook her. "Pinkie! Wake up!" "Do you... know these girls?" Luna asked, stepping beside me. I nodded. "Yes, they appeared in my world this morning. Or, yesterday morning. I dunno what time it is." "They've been this way since last midnight," Luna said, "When Discord--" "Interupted your slumber party and brought them to my world," I said, "Twilight showed me her memories." I stood up and surveyed the bodies of the other ponies. "Wait, Applejack is out, too?" Luna looked at the unconscious earth pony. "Yes. Discord spirited them all away. Why are you surprised at this?" "Because she wasn't with us all day long," I replied, "Nopony knew where she was. The rest of the Mane Six were with me when I woke up." Luna poked me with a hoof. "Why do you call them that? The Mane Six?" I bit my lip. "Well, remember when you asked if I was a spy?" She hardened her gaze. I motioned towards the bed at her. "You might wanna sit down. I have... a whole lot to tell you." Applejack paced back and forth through the apartment. She couldn't get to sleep, despite her best efforts, and the silence was killing her. She stuck her head outside her window to let the sounds of the human city keep her company, but it was like standing in a crowd; Didn't matter how big it was, with nopony to talk to, she might as well be alone. John's room mate struck her as weirder than the human she'd been forced to follow. He kept mumbling to himself, and even in bed, he seemed to talk in his sleep. It was strange, but even stranger when she heard him mention names he was familiar with. "Ah know it's mighty rude, but Ah got a funny feelin' about this feller, David." She began to look around through his room in search of some clues. Even if there were no leads back to Equestria, it would at least be a good idea to get to know the people she was staying with. It wasn't like she could ask, anyway. Going under his bed and rummaging through the things he kept under there, she caught her breath at the sight of a strange rectsngular box, and the lable printed on it. "Spaceballs? What in tarnation kinda name is thst fer this weird plastic book thing?" She tossed it aside and continued digging. Then her heart nearly stopped at the sight of another DVD case. "Mah Lil' Pony... Friendship is Magic Season One?!"